Duterte oversees the crushing of more luxury smuggled vehicles

smuggled vehicles
Screen grab of a Presidential Communications video shared via Twitter.

President Duterte has overseen another crushing of smuggled luxury cars and motorbikes worth nearly 300 million pesos.

The president looked on as a digger drove over 68 luxury vehicles worth 277 million pesos and eight luxury motorbikes worth 19 million at Port Irene in Santa Ana, Cagayan, on Monday, July 30.

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The crushing of smuggled vehicles has become one of the hallmarks of the Duterte administration. He has previously stated that auctioning off seized contraband allows it to find its way back to the original smugglers.

In a speech during the latest public demolition, the president called on the Filipino people to trust his government in addressing corruption.

“That is why we are here, I ordered the destruction. Whatever they said that there still corruption, there is still corruption. I cannot get rid of it in just one day,” he said.

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Duterte also took the opportunity to defend Bureau of Customs Commissioner Isidro Lapena and former BOC chief Nicanor Faeldon from criticisms.

“And do not believe that General Lapeña here, the customs commissioner, is corrupt. He is not. He was for the longest time my chief of police in Davao City,” Duterte said.

“And even Faeldon. You know why I trust him? They got so much money when we raided Mighty cigarettes. Did you know how much we earned from there? Forty billion pesos. He was the one who gave me information.

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“He was the sole singular guy in government who told me that there is smuggling, so much smuggling that if we can destroy it we will have the money.”

The president added that he did not believe that Faeldon and his own son Paolo Duterte accepted a six million peso bribe to allow smuggling of 6.4 billion pesos worth of ‘shabu’ in May 2017.

“I would not believe that he would exchange that for a few mil… 6 million, and it included my son. Susmaryosep,” he said.

He reiterated his commitment to fight corruption even if it would mean sacking more of his government appointees.

“I’m done. I’m beyond politics. I cannot seek re-election. I hit the wall there someday. So I will not waste my time just talking, coming here, and allowing corruption. I will not really. I don’t want it,” he said.

“Do not enter into it. They said, ‘Ay, Duterte may corruption’. Really. But today, I have fired – and what is really very.. what is pitiful is that most of them were with me since 1988 when I became mayor.”

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